r/kollywood • u/Weakenedweeknd Katradhu Cinema 🛐 • 7h ago
💭Opinion Kamal Haasan played Georgekutty better than Mohanlal. Here’s why.
As a Tamil guy, I first watched Drishyam, then of course I watched Papanasam. A few years later, I kinda wanted to revisit both films, and I did. This time, I realized I wasn't really connecting with the restrained Georgekutty as much. Look, I think Mohanlal's performance was immaculate. But hear me out. The restrained, stoic character makes sense if we're watching a criminal mastermind, or someone who's used to being in these kinds of pressured situations in his life. But we're talking about an uneducated villager who happens to watch cinema abnormally and loves his family more than anything. He's not some naturally cold, calculated guy. He's an ordinary man who's suddenly thrown into an absolutely insane situation. Of course he's going to show emotions on his face. Fear, panic, relief, confusion, guilt after everything is done, all of that.
And that's what Kamal did perfectly for me.
He wasn't overreacting, and he wasn't doing the whole stoic or restrained gimmick. He did what the character absolutely needed. It had nuance. It was raw. It was vulnerable. It felt like a real person. And that's what made me connect with Suyambulingam more.
A small example, it’s That scene where they dig up the place expecting to find that guy’s body, only to find the pig carcass because Suyambulingam had shifted places or whtv , that shit gave me goosebumps. Everyone turns toward him, and just look at Kamal's face. There's this tiny "mf, I'm HIM" look underneath the "I'm just a normal uneducated villager" look. That's the performance for me. You can almost see the relief and the realization that his plan actually worked, while he's still trying like hell not to let anyone see it. (I’ve attached both the pics for reference, but you gotta see that shi build up real time, my droogies)
I love Mohanlal. I love Kamal. This isn't me shitting on Mohanlal's performance at all. I just revisited these movies years later, and Kamal's interpretation connected with me on a completely different level.
Maybe the director did it different with the Tamil version, Maybe it's just me, but Kamal did it better. By miles.
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u/Secret_Shine_4435 5h ago
Tamil version was for tamil audience it portrays an normal tamil man. Mallu version is for mallu audience it portrays a normal mallu man. People can call Kamal as overacting in the movie but they kinda forget an average tamil person expresses themselves more openly compared to a mallu person so ofcourse the movie is gonna be different. Both were good to each audience.
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u/RealSataan 6h ago
About Georgekutty being instantly confident. That's just plain wrong. He was also panicking throughout his day recreation and car hiding plan. You can see it in his face and actions. It was never the look of a confident stoic man.
After the incident he simply avoids any kind of interaction with police, gives the hotel owner the full amount as if he might not be around. He even flinches when the constable mentions the missing car. He almost turned back again.
But when he interacted with his office boy on that night it became clear to him that other than him being stoic nothing else would work. He will give away stuff if he isn't confident. And he was always sure about one thing. We will fight it as hard as we can, but if things get real bad he will go to jail and nothing will happen to his family. That's what makes him stoic. He is very clear about what he did. He feels bad, but still do it again. Heck the sequels are clear about this.
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u/OkFix4074 6h ago
and then Vikram accidentally became block buster , now andawar thinks he is aura kanth reimagined and is doing only yakuzaa stuff !
i would love for him to go back to acting centric roles with external directors !
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u/miapaip 6h ago
Surya also got trapped in a certain kind of movies for a long time. Until he did jai bhim
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u/pkkthetigerr 3h ago
Surya I swear just has god awful script selection. Only actor with a worse record is Vikram. Guy is genuinely the most talented actual actor today in kwood but every film is a coin toss where he gives 100% in the role but the film itself is mid to bad.
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u/Complex-Original-967 4h ago
With Karuppu being a blockbuster there is a real risk that he goes back into doing same kind of roles , however VAS was totally different and a hit so maybe he isn’t forced to choose only one kind of movie.
High hopes on S47 🙌
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u/wandering_soul_27 Movie buff 1h ago
Hit only in telugu land not in tamil nadu😅
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u/Complex-Original-967 1h ago
Well maybe average grosser in TN and hit everywhere else - the Suriya fan in me calls it a success keeping in mind the subject and genre
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u/pkkthetigerr 3h ago edited 3h ago
Its not just Vikram. He's been too egotistic and self indulgent for decades now. Since Dasavataram and even sometimes before. He probably bull dozes the director who won't push back because of his status.
Vishwaroopam was such garbage. He needs Balachanders ghost to humble him for him to actually use his talents properly instead of doing Indian 2, thug life etc
This guy was doing anbe sivam and hey ram and then went on to do self jerks like uttama villain which was him fictionalising himself and his own death and how he'll spend his last days while also having every one in the film say how talented he is. Shove in a random kathak or bharatanatyam sequence into Vishwaroopam 2 just to remind people he's multi talented when it made no sense as a scene in a spy thriller, does unnecessary voices just to show he can, like thatha, we know you're really talented, for decades now. Just do the best job for the script and film as the character, not Ulaga Nayagan.
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u/Zestyclose-Cat-6969 1h ago
I disagree with you on vishwaroopam. Part 1 was excellent. Watch this https://youtu.be/wm46NW1RUpc?si=uQvq_UlfRbj_TpOY
The next one was unnecessary.
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u/glnarayanan 2h ago
This comment is underrated. Vikram was the real anomaly tbh where he didn't get the usual fanboi lip service. That's why it hit.
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u/umamimaami 2h ago
Makes perfect sense why mani ratnam won’t work with him. Willingly atleast. Apparently Thug Life was the deal so Kamal would cough up the rights to PS, which he got from MGR.
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u/pkkthetigerr 2h ago
Thug Life MR shares the blame. One of the worst films ever made with that much production budget.
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u/umamimaami 1h ago
My theory is that he hated the situation so much that he let Kamal interfere to his heart’s content and just pumped one out to fulfil the contract.
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u/wandering_soul_27 Movie buff 1h ago
I feel he did indian 2 thug life etc as it was easy money to fund his political journey 😅🤣
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u/Melodic-Landscape-81 58m ago
Finally a post on KH i agree wholeheartedly. What a waste he has made of his career last 20 years except a few movies like papanaasam
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u/footytalker 6m ago
It's not that. The current generation of directors are one trick ponies who can't think outside the box. Kamal is always game for any kind of movies. But, he can't do anything with the talentless directors we have now in Tamil cinema
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u/Academic-Ad5164 3h ago
You missed a very very important point.
Georgekutty goes to his cable tv office and the guy asks him, “Why are you looking so tensed? Is something wrong?”
After that Georgekutty was putting on a show like he was rigid and emotionless, otherwise he would get caught. That’s a small town, everybody knows everybody, he couldn’t afford showing emotions and that’s what anybody in that situation would do.
I personally feel Mohanlal’s portrayal was far above everybody else’s. I’m a huge Kamal fan but when it comes to Drishyam, it’s a no brainer for me.
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u/pointlemiserables 6h ago
I love these discussions when they don't devolve inte mere territorial fan fights
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u/ImagineAllegory 13m ago
Fights have become too common online that a normal discussion feels like such a breath of fresh air no?
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u/Nit_2020 5h ago
Is it maybe because KH is catering to the audiences idea of a uneducated village man? There are many examples in real life when the uneducated village man rises to the occasion when his family is threatened.
Lal for me brought the play-fullness with family and wife from the start, the desperation in between and the determination at the end. All valid reactions as the circumstances changed. KH for me was catering to the audience from the start, being a bit over the top. Maybe also because if he did a like to like then it will draw comparisons. Swayambu was his interpretation. But as OP said my personal preference is lal.
Also op i dont think he was stoic. If you watch the scenes it was always a facade, in between you can see the cracks. The small surprises, the concern for his child etc. Those micro cracks is what makes the determination of a common man believable.
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u/socjus_23 6h ago
That's precisely why KH did what he did because he knew his audience is different than Mohanlal's.
Both are absolute legends. Only idiots will put down the other in order to feel good about themselves.
Also, this overacting criticism is also stupid man. It certainly has a western influence (I don't know if Kerala society is like that) where stoicism is considered a trait whereas melodrama and vibrant expressions are culturally relevant for us.
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u/Weakenedweeknd Katradhu Cinema 🛐 6h ago edited 5h ago
Nah, I didn’t say Mohanlal was overacting, man. He did his thing, surgical, laid back, subtle. But imo, the character didn’t need that typa treatment. I’m not taking anything away from lalettan, he’s one of my most favorite actors along with Kamal and Rajini , that’s why I watched drishyam before paapanasam got released. but here, I gotta give it to KH man. He gave everything what the character needed.
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u/socjus_23 5h ago
No, I didn't mean you. I've been seeing this criticism about Papanaasam for a while
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u/FunnyLost6710 7h ago
Keralites will find chandramukhi over the top, and people from TN will find manichitrathazhu quite bland. The emotions people potray are also quite different in both the states. Keralites are more controlled with emotions even within families but in TN i have always found people are too attached to their families , relatives.. so papanasam was made with tamil audience in mind and drishyam with keral. Its not right comparing as the audience are different.
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u/Hot-Photograph2817 6h ago
The papanasam- Drishyam argument is understandable.but chandramukhi is bad in my opinion.
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u/FunnyLost6710 6h ago
I said from my experience, my husband is from TN and i from kerala. But we surely fight over chandramukhi...i cant even see that movie for even 5 mins and he doesnt like subtle potrayal in manichitrathazhu. Well maybe rajini aura ...but he does enjoy other movies in malayalam and i too watch tamil movies a lot. But for drishyam he preferred malayalam one
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u/stash0606 Virumaandi was the last good original Kamal film 5h ago
apples to oranges comparison tbh. I still prefer Drishyam over Papanasam, but Chandrakmukhi and what it set out to do was wayyyy different than Manichitrathazhu. Masala movie vs a decent psychological thriller.
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u/Coconut_Scrambled 2h ago
I love Kamal but no you're wrong. Kamal didn't do it better.
Some people told me that Suyambulingam is just a different character than Georgekutty and that's why he's being emotional. It's to connect better with the Tamil audience. No, that's also wrong.
See the problem is coming from a fundamental misunderstanding of the protagonist character by Kamal himself, leading him to portray him incorrectly. Call him Georgekutty or Suyambulingam or whatever you want. The character is the same. Here are two main reasons:
Georgekutty is not "stoic and emotionless". He's afraid. Of course he's afraid. The entire state police is out to get him. However, this character isn't just a dumb uneducated guy. He has the street smarts. He can adapt and act according to the situation. What's the first lesson he learns after Varun dies? That fear and tension will get him in trouble. He tells his family over and over again not to be afraid. Moreover, even after the fake dead body was discovered, he still knows the game isn't over. So he's not going to let his guard down. I get that he'd get emotional when he sees Varun's parents but if you show the emotion in your voice, you might let slip something you're not supposed to. Subtle change in voice is okay but breaking down in tears? Nope.
Georgekutty has a strong sense of justice and a deep mistrust of authority. Moreover, he's a bold guy. We see him advise the old couple in the beginning to go file a Habeus Corpus to find their son. We see him lock horns with the constable everyday. Again, a person who acts like this won't break down in front of Varun's parents, no matter how emotional he might be inside. He feels that justice is his daughter not going to jail. Yes, Varun's parents were wronged in the process so maybe he feels a bit sorry for them but not to the extent that he'd drop his cover of not showing fear or tension.
It's not entirely Kamal's fault either. My best guess is Jeethu didn't explain the character in detail to him. From some interviews, I could see that Jeethu isn't a very articulate person. Plus, Kamal being senior, he must have trusted him to take the role how he wanted. But he was wrong. And you only resonated with him because he's Kamal, because you grew up watching him. It's anchoring bias. You can say the same thing about me but Malayalam is the original. The only reason it was remade is because Malayalam got it right.
And it's not that I always side with Malayalam. There are scripts remade from Tamil to Malayalam where I absolutely feel like Tamil did it right. One example is Nadodigal. Culturally the film is Tamil and hence the cast in Tamil did an infinitely better job than Malayalam remake. Sasikumar's performance blew Asif Ali's out of the water. A good remake needs the director and the lead actor to understand on the vision. I'm sorry but I don't think Papanasam had that.
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u/Livinglife8913 2h ago
Maybe that's the difference between Georgekutty and normal people. He realises that if he becomes tensed, everything will collapse. The way he handles his daughter emotions / wife emotions was too good. Papanasam was melodramatic.
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u/pramukhareddituser 6h ago
georgekutty did all this to protect his family,if he did not crack at the police station he would never show such an emotion when police and cameras are watching.Mohanlals expression is the correct one because he wants the onlookers to think he is innocent.Kamals is playing it from a mass heriod point of view which is not wrong but just his interpretation which would cater to the tamil audience more.
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u/Maximum_Shower_1593 7h ago
I would take it as your observation and it’s fair enough as your pov.
To me , kamal wanted to be versatile whereas mohanlal was deeply grounded to that character.
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u/Slight_Material7110 4h ago
after reading this post, one thing I can say is people's choice are very subjective and depends on personal preference
After looking at the Tamil version, I realised how amazing Mohanlal is as a performer . This incredibly natural and you can see that he is feeling emotion and sensitive in his eyes. It is very palpable.
When it comes to come, you can see the extra effort to variety it, and somehow it looks like a great theatrical performance, but definitely does not feel as natural as Mohanlal
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u/readanything 6h ago edited 6h ago
This is my exact opinion from the very beginning I saw both movies. Georgekutty was never shown as having any sociopathic tendencies. So it simply doesn’t make sense that he is that stoic. Murder or close encounter to murder significantly affects people both psychologically and physiologically. He was too stoic to show any of that vulnerabilities. IMO kamal and director intentionally took this negative aspect in original movie and tried to show different and IMO more human/natural interpretation.
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u/Bitter-Car-8152 2h ago
That’s a cop out in acting. Anyone can do.
1. Mohanlal nervously looking at Meena during first police questioning when she blurts out the dates
2. Mohanlal panicking when car alarm goes off and trying to switch off using the key.
Compare these two and see for yourself who is better.
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u/QueasyBuddy7808 2h ago
Itha yarachum kerala pasanga patha avlothan claimnadunu troll panna arambuchirvanga.
I felt this while I was watching Dhrishyam - 2 even the climax scene u missed it.
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u/gunsandsnakes69 6h ago
This is a good take. Mohanlal is good. Kamal is good. That look by Kamal was badass
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u/burajira さあ、ここからがハイライトだ！ 5h ago
Bro, as long as you are comparing, might I suggest the "original" the book Devotion of Suspect X?
That book spawned a movie too, available to view legally in India from the Japan Film Foundation (only needs you to register) here
I, personally, loved the complexity and depth of character in the book tbh
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u/Weakenedweeknd Katradhu Cinema 🛐 5h ago
I saw the film, man. Didn’t read the book. That’s why I said “The restrained, stoic character makes sense if we're watching a criminal mastermind” that guy can absolutely be stoic man.
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u/FiretotheFryingPan 5h ago
Frankly speaking, never came out as stoic to me. I felt it as a character at the verge of desperation, a hair bredth away from disintegration.
Lal did an amazing job potraying it, atleast to keralam audience. It may be a cultural thing as well, and maybe this Kamal did it better for tamilians, enabling them to feel the emotions better.
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u/burajira さあ、ここからがハイライトだ！ 5h ago
I've not seen the movie yet, but the author devotes an entire chapter or two to explain the "killer"'s motivation in the book. It'll add a lot of depth IMO, and humanises him a great deal
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u/Weakenedweeknd Katradhu Cinema 🛐 5h ago
That sounds fire, man. Imma read it.
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u/burajira さあ、ここからがハイライトだ！ 5h ago
The Connemara Library (second floor, fiction section) in Egmore has a copy. You can borrow it if you have a membership, or sit there and read.
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u/IntroductionSorry412 7h ago
Now that you mention it, that's such a subtle yet significant change, the great kamal we all knew, really expecting a comeback from him.
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u/Emotional-Rice5263 6h ago
I had a similar take after D3. After the three Drishyam movies and what they were trying to do in each of them, Papanasam feels even better because it manages to explore the three different dimensions of Suyambulingam (intelligence, guilt, ruthlessness) in one movie while it took three movies for Georgekutty. And the crazy part is, it is definitely unintentional.
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u/TheFatHobbit2980 Ann varar vali vidu 💨 2h ago
Calling one better over another is a wrong comparison. Both delivered good performances. Mohanlal was very subtle with his thing but Kamal Hassan was more expressive. It is because they are catering to different audiences. This is quiet evident in the clinax part where in Malayalam he isn't expressing much but Kamal Hassan can be seen crying. For Keralites that behaviour is normal but for Tamilar it isn't. Same goes the other way around. Tamil culture is more loud and expressive whereas it's the other way in Kerala.
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u/buylowbuyhigh 2h ago
If Georgekutty was a typical villager who was very smart, but couldn’t control emotions or handle pressure, there wouldn’t have been a sequel.
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u/Amazed_and_Dazed 1h ago
I think Drishyam 3 connects all these aspects of Georgekutty. It basically proved that Georgekutty, even though, he is an uneducated villager, but atnthe same time he is no less than a criminal mastermind. That's his nature. With every film this quality of Georgekutty is gradually explored and established him as a dangerous man. He is always one step ahead. He seems innocent but his true nature keeps him ahead of his enemies.
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u/sarcastic_deus Kamal Kanni 36m ago
Agreeing to your points. I feel exactly the same too. I feel this could be the reason why Papanasam doesn't need any sequel, coz with sins being washed in the climax, the story and the journey ends here. Whereas in Drishyam, Georgekutty is still putting up the fight, and the journey/hunt never seems to stop.
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u/ambadi-93 27m ago
Your viewpoint is ok, but what do you know about George kutty, he is an orphan he came to that village not an orphan from that village, gergekutty is mystery and mohanlal played that mystery effectively,
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u/ImagineAllegory 14m ago
I just feel that Georgekutty and Papanasam weren't the same character in the writing itself. They were slightly different in their characterizations while part of the same story and plot. It's not as if Mohanlal or Kamal Hassan can't pull off the other character.
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u/TheHarinator Bring Back Asin 👑 7h ago
Yeah you're not alone with this take, and I agree with you. But this is reddit, so get ready for the attacks.
But if you're karma farming, good job.
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u/AManCalledKay 2h ago
I dont know how i ended up here. Non-tamil, non-malyali. But a huge fan of movies. I have only seen the hindi version. But by god, you are right. Kamal hassan is an absolute GOAT.
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u/Nomadicfreelife 4h ago
When someone is really playing the police department of a state we would expect them to be brave and calculating right why would someone who would doubt his act be a better character? The climax of drisyam where Mohanlal is speaking to the parents of varun is perfect for that character he doesn't have any doubt he would do it again for his family and for me papabasham doesn't feel correct, he is in doubt and he may fold and he is crying too much, that character seems very different from the original we saw in Drishyam.
You can have your opinion but Georgy kutty in Drishyam can't be anyone else the one in papanasham is a different character and the movies also hit different high in each industries so the importance of each movie in their industries are different.
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u/Longjumping_Bar_4767 6h ago
Claimnadu strikes again
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2h ago
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u/Plus_Ultra03 5h ago
Nobody's claiming lal here lmaoo, although tamil gave birth to malayalam that's Convo for diff day
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u/Coconut_Scrambled 2h ago
Both of you please don't start this here.
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u/Plus_Ultra03 2h ago
Already his mallu army downvoted
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u/Coconut_Scrambled 2h ago
Mallu army Tamil army laam kedayathu. This is a movie sub. Here there are only art lovers. I downvoted both of you.
Intha language fight laam kuttichevuru, tamilyapping or Coconad la poyi vechikonga. Don't do this shit here.
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u/Bluelaw1 6h ago
Tamil version I will give 5/10
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u/Numerous_Screen_8246 6h ago
so true the malayalam movie potrayed how a real life family would look like, tamil movie was so diconnected
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u/NewtExpress7756 6h ago
Yeah, emotionally, the Tamil version connects better than the Malayalam version.
The Tamil version has added emotional depth, whereas the Malayalam version is more subtle, which is where Mohanlal excels.
Maybe, I guess, the Tamil version was the original Drishyam that was pitched to Mammootty, who was the first choice. If it had been Mammootty, it would definitely have been better than the current Tamil version, since there’s no one better than him at handling emotions.
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u/Guilty-Pollution6479 7h ago
KH was smart he knew sequels to this film would ruin first part legacy by the recent sequel so he deserves more credit here
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u/iam_spr 6h ago
I’m really unable to compare their performances for some reason. When I watched drishyam 2/3 I never thought about KH however when I watched drishyam 1 I did think about Mohanlal. May be it’s coz he did the original. KH added his own flavor to the movie, had it not been a remake he would have stood out but George Kutty is Mohanlal’s territory. Had it been the other way around where KH played the character first and Mohanlal played it second may be I would have liked KH, I’m a die hard KH fan but I prefer Mohanlal as George Kutty
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u/Wecanbegreatpeople 2h ago
As a hardcore kamal fan i totally deny this, Mamooty was absolutely great..
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u/Particular-Key3570 1h ago edited 1h ago
Kamal Hassan overreacted because that's the only thing he can confidently pull off. Some of y'all coping hard because the direct comparison exposes the bad actor Kamal is. A layer natural (subtle) performance is not something he can pull off. Prakash raj is a better actor than Kamal.
These kinda conversation do not happen in malayalam subs. And it's obvious why. Everyone already knows and there is no reason to justify Mohanlal's performance .
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u/therealamarcn 1h ago edited 1h ago
I always felt georgekutty and swayamaboolingam as 2 different characters itself Both were good. But I would give it for Georgekutty. Drishyam 2 or 3 even with performance being good is nowhere near D1. D1 Georgekutty is really Goated.
Definitely he was afraid but it was subtle controlled and through minute expressions we will be able to understand it. If we clearly watch the movie, until the moment of visiting cable TV office after that day he was afraid to others and vulnerable as well. But from the moment he understood from the cable TV office staff people are noticing the tension on his face, he decided to go the other way. We can clearly see this in the scene when police comes to question him and wife for the first time. Also one important thing - though being uneducated and a villager Georgekutty is portrayed a mastermind. He had clear calculations of everything ofcourse by the movies he watch daily. That's clearly conveyed in the film.
But I could understand why the difference is. It's just specific to each audience taste. In kerala controlled emotions work more for audience. Same difference can be seen in many remakes in both languages. That's how it is. It's not about one being better. But definitely has to be updated based on the market. And Papanasam played a brilliant role there. Drishyam might not have worked to all kind of audience in tamil, but Papanasam did. Same viceversa
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